# Airloom Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/airloom-3d-flight-tracker/ 22 people recommended Airloom in Hacker News comments, 12 had mixed feelings and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. 17 of the 22 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Airloom – 3D Flight Tracker”. **Verdict:** Praised as a smooth, striking 3D viewer of live aircraft; critics say it is more a novelty to look at than a practical tool like FlightAware. Summary written by Claude from 35 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 34 of those comments still count. ## Why people recommend it - Striking, beautiful 3D visualization (7 comments in the sample): "This website is really cool; I love its clean and clear information display." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46085378)) "Just a way to make the world seem smaller!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47048998)) "Wow, great idea well executed, congrats" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46082146)) - Cockpit view and trails (2 comments in the sample): "I love turning the trail length up and watching the air traffic patterns" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084898)) "Commands are not that handy but… it's cool to have the cockpit view" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47732826)) - Accurate match to real flights (1 comment in the sample): "It looks completely accurate." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46082688)) - Smooth on mobile devices (1 comment in the sample): "Buttery smooth on mobile (iPhone 14" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46086052)) ## What people warn about - Little practical use beyond viewing (3 comments in the sample): "it may not have enough details to be of practical use to pilots and air traffic controllers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084032)) "this UI doesn't add much that the color-coded plane icons on ADS-Bx don't already do" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46085478)) "it's more of a neat thing to look at than it is a useful tool like Flightaware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46082884)) - Loading problems and coverage gaps (3 comments in the sample): "had noted the world-tiles would regularly not load, seems okay (and with colors?) now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084210)) "It just sits at "Initializing 3D Space". I don't get anything else." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46087939)) "it doesn't seem to show most flights or airports in africa" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47733052)) - Rendering glitches and stutter (2 comments in the sample): "Very nice. My only feedback is that on a 2017 iMac (Radeon Pro 580), while rotating around, there is a brief hiccup every 1 second." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46089069)) "when I look at the ATL area right now, it looks like aircraft are clipping through the ground at takeoff and landing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46083747)) - Slow pinch zoom (2 comments in the sample): "zooming by pinch on a MacBook trackpad is painfully slow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46088392)) "However you're treating zoom inputs, you've got the opposite effect. A full zoom motion barely does anything." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46088971)) ## Other flight trackers people recommend - [Flighty](https://hackerapproved.com/p/flighty/): 30 recommend, 12 mixed, 13 criticize - [ADS-B Exchange](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ads-b-exchange/): 6 recommend, 2 mixed, 5 criticize - [airplanes.live](https://hackerapproved.com/p/airplanes-live/): 5 recommend, 0 mixed, 2 criticize - [Flightradar24](https://hackerapproved.com/p/flightradar24/): 5 recommend, 1 mixed, 5 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Airloom", https://hackerapproved.com/p/airloom-3d-flight-tracker/ (22 recommend, 12 mixed, 3 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.